Many operating systems provide a mechanism for “stitching” (i.e., pipelining) multiple applications (e.g., utilities) together to create a custom, ad hoc command that can be entered on a command line of the operating system. Typically, the commands are used in system administration tools, such as for managing system properties. Each of the “pipelined” utilities in the command communicate with each other by transferring text. Thus, each utility in the pipeline is responsible for parsing text that is received and for formatting text that is output.
The formatting of the text that is output is performed by code within the command and is, typically, based on interpreting switches provided on the command line for the command. Thus, each command is responsible for formatting and displaying the output, as desired.
Therefore, there is a need for a mechanism that provides enhanced formatting options and does not require extensive code within the command in order to provide the enhanced formatting options.